In 2016, more than 42,000 people in the United States died from overdosing. And almost half (about 19,000) of these deaths were related to fentanyl.

Most people use fentanyl without knowing it, because street dealers often add it to other illicit (illegal) drugs such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and counterfeit (fake) prescription drugs sold on the street. Even the smallest amount of fentanyl can be deadly—and very hard to detect.

That’s another reason why using drugs is so risky. Most of the time, people don’t intend to overdose. It happens by accident.

In the video below, Dr. Wilson Compton, one of the authors of the report about fentanyl-related overdose deaths, explains more about what the report found.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse Blog Team. Fentanyl: A Big Danger in Small Amounts. National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens website. https://teens.drugabuse.gov/blog/post/fentanyl-big-danger-small-amounts. May 29, 2018. Accessed

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